basketball
Mavs comeback fails: Celtics close to winning NBA title
Maxi Kleber (l) of the Dallas Mavericks tries to stop the shot of Boston’s Jaylen Brown. Photo
© Tony Gutierrez/AP
After two defeats, the first game of the NBA Finals in Dallas was particularly important for the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki’s fans are experiencing an emotional rollercoaster ride – and have little hope left.
The Boston Celtics are just one win away from their 18th place in the finals against the Dallas Mavericks. NBA title in their history and the status as the league’s sole record champions. After their 106-99 away win in Texas, the Celtics now lead the series 3-0.
For the Mavericks, the second championship since the triumph with Dirk Nowitzki in 2011 is a long way off. No basketball team has ever turned around a 0-3 deficit in the playoffs. Apart from the Celtics, only the Los Angeles Lakers have 17 titles so far.
“This is a big win. I’m proud of how we played today. We had some great moments in the third quarter,” said Celtics star Jaylen Brown. Looking ahead to a possible decision in the fourth game of the series, which will again take place in Dallas on Saturday night, he said: “We have to stay focused and calm.”
Sixth foul and
The host team, featuring stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving as well as Würzburg’s Maxi Kleber, gave up an early 13-point lead in front of their own fans and were already seemingly hopelessly behind by 21 points in the final quarter. But Doncic and Irving led their team back within striking distance with a 20-2 run to make it 90-93.
But then Doncic received his sixth foul with 4:12 minutes to go for a poorly placed block and was not allowed to continue playing. Irving brought the Mavs within one point of the Celtics at 92:93, but it was not enough to tie the game or even take the lead.
Doncic: “That’s basketball.”
“We almost made up a 21-point deficit. We’re not going to stop believing in ourselves now,” said Doncic after the game. “That’s basketball. They had their run, but we stayed in the game and made our baskets at the right time,” said Celtics pro Brown.
Doncic finished the evening with 27 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Irving scored 35 points and had by far his best game in the final series. Kleber was only on the court for eight minutes and missed all three shot attempts during that time.
In the Celtics jersey, leaders Jayson Tatum and Brown were once again the best players. Tatum scored 31 points, Brown scored 30. The Celtics had to do without injured key player Kristaps Porzingis, who had played a major role in his team’s victories in the first two games of the final series in Boston.